… is what my Assistant said at the end of the day, as I was mentioning to her some of the items on tomorrow’s agenda.

Before she could say any more, I interrupted her with:

“take off this uniform and leave the show”

I waited a few seconds while scanning her expressionless face for a sense of acknowledgement. I then politely looked up at her and said, “do you know that song?” And as I expected, she had no idea. Now maybe it’s because I’m not exactly singing it like Pink (though I was trying), but still… I can hold a tune well enough for THAT lyric to be recognized. Nevertheless, her naivety, or unfamiliarity, of the song wasn’t really surprising at all.

However, then I inquired – “do you know who Pink Floyd is?”

She said, did they write “man on the moon” (or something like that). I said “uh, no.” She said, “well, I don’t know them, but I have heard of them.” Hmmmm (I thought to myself), I sort of have my doubts about that. It’s nothing against her, and again, it’s no real surprise. Or at least, I shouldn’t be that surprised. There are many Russian/Ukrainian groups (well, nearly all, actually) that I’ve never heard of. So if she said the same to me about one of her favorite bands, I’d likely be equally naive. But then again, Pink Floyd is one of the most popular rock bands, ever – world wide.

I mentioned it to my wife when I got home, and she thought that was ridiculous (because she had listened to Pink Floyd for many years – and she’s 100% Ukrainian as well). But then again, my Assistant is 25 (10 years younger than my wife), and hasn’t necessarily traveled much.

Still… as I sat in my office, alone, for then next 10 minutes, I just wondered and wandered a bit…

I came to the conclusion:

I have lived a lot of my life through the music of Pink Floyd – and their music means a lot to me.

I have been places that make me think of their music. I can go places when I listen to their music. I have pondered their lyrics over and over. I have recorded myself singing Pink Floyd songs. I have learned David Gilmore licks on my guitar. I have watched Pink Floyd videos, and I have seen Pink Floyd live in concert 3 times. I have experienced significant mood altering episodes while enjoying their music. I have watched The Wall at least 20 times. At least! I have listened to some of their albums well over 100 times – and Animals – dare I say a thousand. I’ve lip-synced to Pink Floyd, and I’ve karaoked to Pink Floyd. I used to have a tie-dyed Pink Floyd wall covering – which traveled with me and adorned my walls for well over a decade. In the 80′s I wore out my Pink Floyd tapes, and I had their bumper stickers on my VW bug, and have had too many T-shirts to count them all.

And this woman, my Executive Assistant, that works for me and sits next to me every day – has never even really heard or appreciated this music.

I was stunned. It reminded me of how much I have actually lived, and all of the places I have been when enjoying their music. Sometimes laughing, sometimes crying, but always loving that music. Music that has so much meaning, it never stops making sense. It is timeless, and genius – and there’s nothing else quite like it – nor will there be, in my opinion. Not to get overly philosophical or anything, but sometimes I forget about those days gone by – and I find myself getting too caught up (or trapped) in the daily minutia.

Well – I think it’s healthy to reflect upon some of those memories from time to time – lest, we forget some of our most wonderful and cherished memories = some of our best moments, in life. Indeed, this is what just that one line got me thinking about.

Stop
I wanna go home
Take off this uniform
And leave the show
And I’m waiting in this cell
Because I have to know
Have I been guilty all this time

No, not the Oakland Raiders. They just plain suck.

But thank Steven Spielberg for making Indiana Jones: Raiders of the Lost Ark. I love Indiana Jones. Like many of you (at least when I was 15), I wanted to be Indiana Jones. But… it’s just a movie. So how do I get my Indie fix today?

I heading into downtown Kyiv a day early (by mistake) for a Mozart Balet, and ending up buying a legit copy of Indiana Jones for a measely $8. And, it comes in both English and Russian!

Next is Star Wars… but nobody seems to have it. I’m trying to get well known movies in both English and Russian (with both types of subtitles) because it can help me to learn more colloqial and conversational Russian — because I already know much of the scripts by memory.
Alrighty… time to pop it into the DVD player and enjoy. Peace.

This morning I woke up to the warm smell of Kasha Ofsyanaya (oatmeal, in phonetic Russian) being prepared by Mam (Mother-in-law’s mis-spelled nickname). It was a fairly standard start to a winter day — the wife went to work, I’m on the computer for about an hour, and then it’s time for breakfast.

As I walk to the kitchen and peer out over the balcony at the fresh snow-covered park, I hear something very familiar hit the airwaves on our relic of an AM radio, which resides on the kitchen table. In fact, old “Nellie” stays on most of the time. It’s a classic from at least 30 years back, with soft blue and aged, still-yellowing plastic brandishing it’s bulky frame. With 5 buttons on the top it’s easy to quickly power up the massive transistor, which exhibits 4 frequency selection buttons. To date, I have yet to figure out how to tune it — I simply hit one of the buttons. I can’t understand most of what they say anyway, so what does if matter what I am hearing?

Anyhow, this morning it was bellowing the typical Russian pop-techo, pre-80′s, disco-type crap, which like a virus, has permanently (I’m afraid) integrated itself into the Soviet culture. Man, the New Year’s celebrations on TV were a blast from the past (but I swear it said 2008 on the stage). Much of the time I can’t stand the music filling the central part of the apartment, and I turn it off when I walk into the kitchen (only to find the radio turned on again after Mam has visited in the interim). Fair enough, she’s always in there cooking. This time, though, I left it on as I enjoyed the view of the fresh snow. Every once in a while I discover another snippet of Western culture “sneaking” onto the radiowaves, and I appreciate that perhaps not all Russians are stuck in a time warp.

This morning was the pinnacle of my Ruski radio experiences thus far. Alas… a diamond in the rough! I can’t believe my ears… could it… could it be… NOOO WAAAAY! Yes, it is. A fantastic (particularly in my deprived state) version of Led Zeppelin’s “Kashmir” on the radio. No, it wasn’t the original, but a pretty damn eloquent rendition by a stringed orchestra. Ahhh – Kashmir on the radio – what could be better? Sure, I have the internet, and iTunes — but hearing it actually come over the local airwaves elicited a feeling that cannot be mimicked by plugging in the iPod. No way, no how.

The hair on my arms stood on end. A smile appeared on my face. I reminisced about Zeppelin-associated memories (the back seat of the VW Bug). I bang on the windowsill like a Bonham wannabe, and belt like a Plant protege.
All of a sudden, life has some perspective again. Thank you Robert Plant, Jimmy Page, John Bonham and John Paul Jones! Thank you.